Salut tout le monde !Une église américaine de Floride est à l'origine d'une initiative profondément irrespectueuse et scandaleuse : le 11 septembre prochain, brûler des exemplaires du Coran dans l'enceinte de l'église, pour "commémorer les victimes des attentats et s'opposer au fléau de l'islam". Soi-disant, brûler le livre saint de l'islam pour montrer symboliquement que l'islam mène dans les flammes de l'Enfer...
Pour protester, j'ai donc créé un autre groupe Facebook pour les chrétiens opposés à cette initiative. Je suis persuadé qu’une majorité de chrétiens, même Américains, sont opposés à cette initiative abominable, sans aucun amour, et totalement anti-chrétienne ! Nous pouvons le prouver si le nombre de membres du groupe dépasse celui des fans de leur page. Merci de le rejoindre si vous avez Facebook, et d’inviter vos amis !!!
Dans le cadre de ce groupe, une journaliste qui écrit un reportage sur ce projet m'a contacté pour me poser des question sur pourquoi je m'y opposais. Je publie ici l'interview (en anglais, j'ai la flemme de traduire maintenant, je le ferai peut-être plus tard si je suis motivé) ^^. Ca vous permettra de mieux comprendre ma démarche.
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- Please, tell me your full name, occupation, where you are from and religion orientation.
My name Is Philip, I'm 20 years old and I'm French. I study foreign languages, English, Spanish and Arabic, at Dijon University, France, in order to become an interpretor. I was raised up in a Christian family, so I had a Christian education, and I personally dedided to accept Christ as my Saviour while I was a teenager. I belong to an evangelical church.
- How did you hear about the International Burn a Koran Day?
Through a link a friend put on his Facebook wall to denounce it. I immediately posted the link on my own Facebook wall, in order to ask my friends to report the group to Facebook at "Hate language", and I also did so myself.
- How was your reaction at the time, as a Christian like them?
I found it absolutely horrifying that other Christians can fall so low. I can't see any Christian love in such an event. I thought it was answering extreme Islamists in the same way as they do - by hatred. I believe God calls us Christians to love Muslims and to share with them his offer of Salvation through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
In the Gospel, Jesus says, "In all things, do to others what you would want them to do to you." That's what Christians call the Golden Rule. As we Christians don't want Muslims to burn the Bible, we shouldn't burn their Holy Book, the Koran - although this book means nothing to me.
I believe what worried me most of all was the terrible testimony this would be to Muslims if they saw it.
I also believe it is important to show extreme Islamists that the world won't bow down before them. It is very important to stand firm in front of Islamic terrorism. But this is certainly not the right way to do it - and it can also be easily understood as an amalgam assimilating all Muslims to terrorism. And I know most Muslims in the Western world today hate terrorism just as much as we do.
- How were the reactions among people that you know about this day? Do you know somebody Muslim that got offended?
In fact, the very first person who saw my link was a Berber Moroccan friend from my university. She is a Muslim, although she is not very practicing, and she was shocked. But she also was happy to see that as a Christian was against it, and considered it as being against Christianity and Christian love.
Since than, several other Muslim friends saw it, and they all felt offended - which I completely understand.
By the way, some of the wictims of 9/11 attacks were Muslim, and they surely would feel deeply hurt if they knew that a book which means so much for them will be burnt "in their memory".
As for Christians, I have spoken with many of my Christian friends about it, and all except one single person were against it, and agreed with me that it was completely contrary to Christian love.
- What made you open a group on Facebook against this event? When was it?
Just after I saw the group, I immediately wanted to do something to protest against this event. I wanted this for two main reasons: show the organizers that the Church in its vast majority disapproves of them - I read today the National Association of Evangelicals, the largest evangelical body in the United States, called on the organizers to cancel the event - and show Muslims, who are disgusted by such a sort of Christianity, that there are Christians who are different, who don't act like that.
I spent time in prayer, asking God what he wanted me to do, and the idea of a Facebook group came the next day. I thought it was the best way to do what I wanted to do. So, I created the group on Sunday 1st of August, at the beginning of the afternoon.
- How many people support your cause until now and which is their profile?
At this moment, the group has 51 members, including myself, my father and my sister, which is quite good as the group is only 3 days old. At the beginning, most members were my personal friends, but now as I have posted links on different pages, more and more people I don't know personally are joining. About all are evangelical Christians. Members are Christians from all over the world: USA, Canada, UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, India, Algeria, South Africa, Ghana, French-speaking Africa, etc - it's the Church in the whole world testifying they are against International Burn a Koran Day. Right now, I'm thinking about reaching Eastern Christians: they are the Christians who suffer the more directly under Islamic extremism, yet from what I heard they also are against this idea.
A few members of the group are Muslims. They are welcome, if they want to discuss faith questions. But the group is firstly there for Christians, to express their disagreement.
- Did you have a chance to talk to the people from this church in Florida? Would you like to?
I didn't speak to them. If they want to contact me, they're welcome, but I don't wish to speak to them. If our group has more members than their page before September 11th, I will write to them on their website, to tell them the worldwide Church condemns what they're doing.
But I am completely aware my group will in no way stop them from doing what they plan to do. So it's not my aim to convince them to cancel the event, I know I would fail. But as I know by far most Christians are against such events, I want to show the world, and the organizers, that we as Christians disagree with people who call themselves Christians and act like this.
- What do you thing about this people from the International Burn a Koran Day? Are they on their right of free speech?
I have thought much about it, and I don't really know if it is their right. Thet fact is, according to American law, which includes in freedom of speech the freedom to insult, what they are doing is legal. According to French law, it would be considered as defamation, and so be illegal.
Anyway, I'm not sure if it should be allowed by the law or not, but I'm sure as Christians they should not act like this. We should be different of our society, and love our neighbors as ourselves. This way of doing is wrong, because it isn't commanded by love, but by fear - and the Bible says true love banishes fear. I read an interview of the pastor who is organizing this event, and he was calling Christians who were against it to share the Gospel with Muslims - I have to ask, how can he ever dream any Muslim would listen to the Gospel if he preaches it, after he will have burnt the Koran? His preaching will be completely useless.
Moreover, there is another point the organizers haven't thought of: Muslim extremists will surely want to avenge themselves, which means even more suffering for Christians in Muslim countries. And I believe God will hold them for accountable for whatever happens to those who believe in him because of their stupid event.
- Should the liberty that exists in America, and other places, allow any kind of manifestation, even if it promotes the increasing of prejudice?
That is an important point - I believe such manifestations should at least be forbidden because they favour prejudice, if not for other reasons. That's why I reported their Facebook page.
There is actually a debate on whether Islam is by nature a violent religion, or whether Islamist terrorism is against the real Islam. I have my opinion on this question, but I think it is far more important to look at what people calling themselves Muslims who live around us are living, than what would be a hypothetical "original Islam". And a large majority of Muslims in Europe and in the Middle-East are very peace-loving, respectful people, who abhor violence and wish to live in a world of religious tolerance. And they claim to find these ideas in the Koran. This event, this useless provocation, deeply hurts them, and also makes it more difficult to share the Gospel with them, by profanating something that is very important in their lives. That's why as a Christian, I am against this event, and I don't believe it glorifies God.
If you allow me to conclude with a message for Brazilian Christians: if you agree with me, please join my group! It is called: Christians AGAINST International Burn a Koran Day.
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